Schools and nurseries in Gran Alacant: how to enrol your children

Machine translation made with AI: it may contain errors. Please check the details in the official sources.

This guide explains how school enrolment works in the Valencian Community for families settling in Gran Alacant (Santa Pola). It contains no ratings or rankings of schools.

The Spanish education system: the basics

Basic education lasts ten years, from age 6 to 16, and is compulsory and free (Organic Law on Education 2/2006). The stages are:

Educación Infantil (early years education, ages 0-6): two cycles. The first (0-3) and the second (3-6) are both voluntary.
Educación Primaria (primary education, ages 6-12): six years, normally at a CEIP (state primary school).
Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, ESO (compulsory secondary education, ages 12-16): four years, at an IES (secondary school).
Bachillerato (two years of pre-university study) and Formación Profesional (vocational training): stages that follow the ESO.

Schools can be public, concertados (privately run but publicly funded) or private. Public and concertado schools follow the same admissions process.

Admissions: how and when to apply for a place

The Conselleria de Educación (Valencian Regional Department of Education) manages admissions online through its portal (the "Secretaría Digital" and the new Adminova portal). For the 2026-2027 school year, the calendar was as follows:

Infantil and Primaria: applications from 7 to 18 May 2026; provisional results on 4 June; final results on 18 June.
ESO and Bachillerato: applications from 21 May 2026.
Extraordinary phase: this takes place after the ordinary phase, for places that remain vacant.

The calendar for 2027-2028 has not been published yet. Check it on the Conselleria admissions website from spring 2027. Dates may vary each year.

Useful details of the 2026-27 process:

For the first level of Infantil (age 3), children born in 2023 could take part; for the first year of Primaria, children born in 2020.
You can list up to twenty schools in order of preference.
Factors taken into account include siblings at the school, family income (with authorisation given to the Tax Agency) and others set out in the regulations.
If you arrive from another region or from a school that is not publicly funded, you must undertake to provide the withdrawal certificate from the previous school when you enrol.
If you arrive during the school year, check the extraordinary phase on the admissions website or contact the school.

Valencian and Spanish (Castilian)

Law 1/2024 on educational freedom regulates the base language. In areas where Valencian predominates, families state on the application whether they prefer Valencian or Spanish (Castilian) as the base language when starting Infantil, and this demand is used to organise the school's lines (class groups). The specific provision (lines, additional English, support for newly arrived pupils) depends on each school, so ask at the school. To find out which language zone the municipality falls in, see article 35 of Law 4/1983 and, for each school year, the admissions website.

Schools near Gran Alacant

According to the Santa Pola Town Council website and the tourism website:

CEIP Doña Vicenta Ruso, Avenida de Noruega 159, in Gran Alacant.
Other public schools in the municipality: CEIP José Garnero, Joanot Martorell, Cervantes and Virgen de Loreto.
CEIP no. 8 in Santa Pola: the Consell (Valencian regional government) approved its creation in December 2025 by splitting off from Vicenta Ruso; it has been operating since the 2025-26 school year. Its location and allocation have not been confirmed: check with the Town Council or on the admissions website.
Secondary: there are secondary schools in Santa Pola (IES Santa Pola, IES Cap de l'Aljub) and a secondary school project in Gran Alacant. To find out which secondary school corresponds to your address, check the school linking and catchment areas published by the Conselleria.
Concertado and private schools: check the Conselleria's register of schools.

Nurseries (ages 0-3)

The first cycle of Infantil is applied for through the same process at schools owned by the Generalitat (children born in 2024, 2025 and 2026 can take part, depending on the level). Municipal or private nurseries may have their own deadlines: check with the Santa Pola Town Council and with each nursery.

International options in the province

Some private schools in the province of Alicante offer a British or international curriculum. For reference only, and without any recommendation: Newton College (Elche, according to the press), El Limonar International School Villamartín (San Miguel de Salinas) and King's College Alicante. For admissions, fees and calendar, check each school's official website (Newton College, El Limonar International School Villamartín, King's College Alicante).

Documents you usually need

According to the 2026-27 admissions resolution:

Identification of the applicant and of the pupil: DNI (Spanish national ID), NIE (foreigner's identification number), residence card or EU citizen registration certificate. Anyone who only has a passport must go to their first-choice school to obtain the access code.
NIA (pupil identification number) if the child has already studied in the Valencian Community.
Details of the members of the family unit and authorisation to check income.

When you complete the enrolment, the school may ask for more documents (padrón registration, family record book, academic record from the country of origin and its recognition): ask the school.

Disclaimer: general information; check the details with the official source.